Landslide
by Enkida
Summary: Some time after the last battle, the gang gets together for a reunion vacation in Icicle Town. But Vincent doesn't want to share the holiday mood... V x Y, COMPLETE
1. The Climb

**Landslide**

**AN**: _This fiction was written for a Yuffie x Vincent challenge, and there you have just about all the warnings you need for this story. Standard disclaimers apply: All characters were created by and are property of Square Enix, and I am making a profit only from reader reviews. The snippets of poetry are actually from "Song of Childhood" by Peter Handke._

**Chapter 1: The Climb**

"Sweet Leviathan, it's freezing here!" Yuffie's teeth chattered together noisily as she hopped around, trying to warm herself in the cold winter air.

Beside her, Tifa laughed. "You're only cold because of the way you're dressed. You should have listened to Cloud, you know. He warned you that we were going to stop by Icicle Town."

Yuffie glared at her taller companion and rubbed her arms. "Yeah, yeah. But I thought he meant later, not like right after he said it!" she whined.

Tifa smirked. "It's been three days since he decided where to go for our vacation. And I did ask you to go shopping with me when we were still in Junon," she scolded Yuffie lightly. Both girls turned at the sound of a door opening.

Cid strolled onto the deck of the Highwind and did a double-take at what he saw. Grabbing the cigarette out of his mouth, his eyes wrinkled with amusement as he regarded the two women. "Lookin' good, Tifa," he said, giving a nod to the taller woman, who happened to be clad in a thick pair of pants and a long wool coat. "Can't say the same for you, brat."

Yuffie scowled and tried to stick her tongue out at Cid. She reconsidered the idea as another chill shook her body. "Gee, thanks, Cid. Hey, you don't really need that jacket of yours, do ya?" she asked him hopefully, hopping from foot to foot.

"Well, let me think about it…" Cid carefully brought his cigarette to his lips and took a very slow puff. The seconds ticked by. Finally, when the smoke threatened to burn through even his tar-coated lungs, he exhaled slowly. "Nope."

"CID!" Yuffie yelled angrily. "C'mon, at least gimmie the scarf!"

Cid ignored the hopping teenager and addressed Tifa. "So why's she still dressed for a tropical holiday?"

Tifa laughed and crossed her arms together. "My guess is that Yuffie thought she could convince Cloud to take us to Costa del Sol instead." Her eyebrows rose slightly as she looked at Yuffie. "She underestimated the power of the call of snowboarding."

"If he wanted to friggin' snowboard, we could've gone to the Gold Saucer!" Yuffie complained loudly. "What kind of a vacation spot is Icicle Town anyway? You can't even go to the bathroom here without making a pissicle!" she yelled.

"Watch your mouth," reprimanded a stern voice as Cloud stepped out onto the deck behind Cid. A brightly coloured snowboard was tucked under one arm and a pair of goggles hung around his neck. "Besides, nothing can compare with the real thing. I'm going to hit the slopes. Who's coming with me?"

Cid grunted and shook his head at Cloud. "Naw, I'm gonna join Barret at the bar. Nanaki's already on the slopes. &#, you know, for a fire cat, that thing sure loves the snow."

Cloud sighed. "Damn. Nanaki always throws my balance off. Having a two-legged partner would help, though…" He smiled and turned to Tifa, who immediately paled.

"Oh no," she said, raising her hands and shaking her head vigorously. "I was with you the last time you tried snowboarding, Cloud. You couldn't pay me!"

The young blonde looked disappointed. "But-"

"No buts!" Tifa said, crossing her arms and wearing a stern expression. "Ask Yuffie, I'm not going with you!"

Yuffie's eyes bulged as Cloud turned to her with a hopeful smile. "I'm freezing my shorts off just standing around, and you want me to go snowboarding?" she said with disbelief. "Nuh-uh, only if you're gonna shave Red and make me a coat outta his fur!" she screeched.

Cloud sighed and turned to the last remaining member of the group, who had been leaning silently on the railing for the entire time. "Vincent? You're dressed appropriately. You might even enjoy it."

The dark gunman looked up silently from the collar of his cloak. He said nothing, but his expression was more than enough of an answer for everyone.

A look of annoyance crossed over Cloud's face as he regarded their tall companion. "You know, Vincent-"

"You convinced me to come on this 'vacation' of yours. I think I've done enough," Vincent said levelly.

Cloud's brows drew together, and he exhaled slightly. "Fine." He turned on the gunman and faced the others, hefting his snowboard. "Let's mosey!"

Cid was already climbing down the rope ladder, and Cloud tossed his snowboard over the side of the airship. Tifa moved to follow him, and Yuffie's eyes widened. "H-hey, wait a second!" she yelled, running in place to keep her legs warm. "What about me?"

Only the top tuft of Cloud's spiky hair was visible as his voice rose over the side of the ship. "Get some clothes and join us on the slope afterwards."

Tifa's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Shopping! Now that sounds perfect!" She whirled and clapped her hands together. "Come on, I'll help you pick out a new outfit."

Yuffie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright, I guess anything is better than freezing here." She scurried over to the rope ladder and waited for Tifa to descend. A sudden thought struck the young ninja, and she whirled around. "Hey, what about you, Vince? Are you gonna come with us?"

Vincent remained motionless against the rail. He gave Yuffie a cursory glance and then turned his head away, ignoring her.

Yuffie scowled and huffed, causing a large plume of white breath to rise before her face. "You know, Cloud was only tryin' to help you out there. Geez, Vincent, you're colder than all of Icicle Town put together!" she chided. Then she smirked at him. "Heh, maybe when we get back, you'll be frozen and we can mount you on the bow of the Highwind like a trophy! So hold your gun out or something while you're hanging around, okay?" She pulled down her lower eyelid with a finger and stuck out her tongue, and then with a wild leap, slung herself over the ladder and climbed down.

After a while, the commotion of the other members of AVALANCHE leaving the ship died down, and Vincent was finally alone on the deck. A cold wind blew once more, and he pulled the edge of his cloak up. The merry, twinkling lights of Icicle Town beckoned to him with promises of warmth and company. He glared at them accusingly and turned his gaze towards the mountains surrounding the tiny village. The high peaks were dark, quiet and desolate. The perfect place to brood, in his opinion. Pushing himself off of the railing, the gunman leapt down from the airship and headed towards the mountain range.

- x – x – x -

"It's too tight!"

"This one's too long."

"I don't really like this color."

"Gawd, this makes me look fat!"

"But it's itchy!"

Tifa rolled her eyes upwards and threw another pile of clothes onto the rack. The saleswoman in the small boutique gave her a nasty look as she sorted through the growing pile of costumes Yuffie had rejected. Tifa inwardly sighed with embarrassment and made her way to the dressing room. "I'm coming in, okay?" she called out.

The inside of the dressing room was not looking much better than the rack outside. Shirts, pants, hats, socks and gloves lined the floor. It looked as if a tornado had landed inside of the room and demolished its contents. And standing at the eye of the storm was Yuffie, her hair messy and barefoot amidst the piles.

"What is your problem, Yuffie?" Tifa said, planting her hands on her hips. "That saleswoman outside is getting ready to use a limit break on me! And look at this mess! Why can't you find anything to wear?" she said sternly.

Yuffie sighed uncomfortably and pulled at her collar. "It just doesn't look right, Tifa. This shop is full of stuff you'd wear, not me!"

Tifa raised an eyebrow and picked up one of the scattered pairs of pants lying on the floor. It was made of a stretchy lime-green fabric with odd purple and orange blobs printed across it. "Excuse me?" she said, throwing the pants at Yuffie with a meaningful look. "You're the one who's been picking out these things, not me. I think you just have a problem buying new clothes," she said dryly.

Yuffie sighed and hung her head dejectedly. "I've never been shopping before…" she mumbled quietly.

"WHAT?" Tifa yelled. She stuck her head out of the dressing room quickly and muttered a short apology as the saleswoman came running. When she was finished, she looked at Yuffie critically. "What do you mean you've never been shopping before? Don't tell me that's all you have to wear," she said, gesturing at Yuffie's rumpled shorts and tiny green top.

"Well, umm… see, women are supposed to wear kimonos," the ninja muttered as her cheeks flushed slightly. "Don't ask, it's a Wutai thing. I sorta had to 'borrow' my own clothes from the guys back home."

Tifa's eyebrow rose impossibly higher as she took a closer look at Yuffie. "So that's why your shirt's too small and your shorts are too big?" she said finally.

Yuffie scowled at the older girl. "Hey, I look fine!" she grumbled.

"You look like a tomboy," Tifa corrected her with a smile. "Here, I love shopping. Let me pick something out for you. I promise, you'll look good in it."

Yuffie gave Tifa a frightened stare. "I don't wanna wear a skirt as short as yours!" she panicked. "I don't know how you manage to sit!"

Tifa laughed and waved her hand at Yuffie. "Don't worry, it'll be modest. Besides, we're in Icicle Town now. You'd freeze in something like that!" A glint entered her eye as she appraised Yuffie's figure. "Just wait here, I'll be right back. And clean up this room!" she added, gesturing towards the floor as she left.

Some time later, Tifa finally returned to the dressing room, where a nervous Yuffie was picking at a stray thread on one of the mismatched costumes she had folded. "Well, I thought you might be comfortable with something that looked familiar, so I picked these out for you," Tifa said, depositing a pair of pants and a long-sleeved top on the chair. "You won't be able to go snowboarding in these, though," she added, hanging a jacket onto the rack.

Yuffie's eyes bulged as she examined the clothing the other woman had brought in. "Tifa… this is suede!" she said, fingering the creamy-coloured pants.

"I know, it's going to look fantastic on you," Tifa said proudly.

"Forget fantastic! How am I gonna afford all of this?" Yuffie moaned, eyeing the matching suede jacket hanging on the rack and the forest green turtleneck sweater on the chair beside her.

"That's simple. Cloud's footing the bill!" Tifa said with a smirk.

Yuffie squeaked as she looked at the price tags on the clothing. "He's not gonna spend his gil on this stuff, Tifa!"

Flames roared to life in Tifa's eyes. "You're not the only one who suggested we go to Costa del Sol instead, Yuffie. If Cloud wants to snowboard that badly during our vacation, he can pay for it. Literally." The flames died down and a mischievous smile spread over her face. "Now come on, try it on."

Some time and one very pleased saleswoman later, Yuffie and Tifa managed to exit the boutique. Yuffie was finally appropriately dressed, and Tifa was carry carrying a few bagfuls of "necessary accessories" that she had found along the way.

"I think we better drop these things off at the Highwind before we do anything else," Tifa said as she juggled around a few of her bags.

Yuffie snickered. "I wanna see Cloud's face when you show him all that," she said with a grin. As she spoke, Tifa tripped and one of the bags fell over, spilling out the contents of a box with a very notorious lingerie label printed on its top. Yuffie gawked while Tifa flushed and quickly collected the scattered package.

"Not for all of them," Tifa giggled as she hefted the packs together once more. "But the sooner we get back to the Highwind, the better," she mumbled, her cheeks still slightly red.

Yuffie laughed and nodded, grabbing a few of the bags from Tifa and skipping ahead. She paused suddenly and turned around, waiting for Tifa to catch up with her. "Hey, you think Vincent's still up there?" she said as they both resumed their walk towards the huge airship.

Tifa sighed slightly, glancing at Yuffie over the pile of bags she was carrying. "I really don't know, Yuff. I think it was lucky that we managed to get Vincent to come along for this reunion trip at all…"

Yuffie blinked. "You guys picked me up last. I mean, I thought Vincent was being a little quiet, but he's always quiet. You mean he didn't wanna come with us?" she asked sadly.

Tifa smiled half-heartedly. "Well, we had to pull him out of Nibelheim again. He went back to the coffin after we… after everything else." She sighed slightly. "Cloud was angry with him. I was the one who had to convince him to even bother inviting Vincent. And even now, Vincent's not making it easy. It's like he doesn't want to live…"

Yuffie scrunched up her nose thoughtfully. "That sucks!" she said finally. "I can't believe he went back to that stinky old coffin. I mean, gross! No wonder he has that dead person smell!"

Tifa choked back a giggle. "Yuffie!" she scolded. "Don't be mean!"

"Why not?" Yuffie said carelessly. "He's mean to the rest of us. I think we're allowed to mean right back!" She huffed loudly as they reached the base of the rope ladder leading up to the ship's deck. "Even if Mr. Vampire was still up there, I bet he wouldn't come down and help us carry these bags!" she yelled loudly.

Tifa glared at Yuffie, and then breathed a sigh of relief when they heard no movement from above. "He's probably not there, Yuffie. We're lucky he didn't hear you say that!"

Yuffie stuck out her lower lip and sulked. She began to struggle her way up the ladder, carrying a few of the bags with her. "I wish he had heard me," she mumbled. "I'd like to give him a piece of my mind!"


	2. The Fall

**Chapter 2: The Fall**

Vincent sneezed. He rubbed at his nose with surprise. "I thought Hojo's experiments would make me impervious to the cold. Don't tell me he failed even in that…" he muttered to himself. He paused and looked down the snowy mountainside. The tracks he had made with his heavy bronze-tipped boots were clearly visible, forming a lonely trail up to the rocky outcropping which he was perched upon. The lights of Icicle Town below were still visible, but thankfully much more distant. Vincent didn't want anything to do with the cheery mountain community. Though small, the village was bustling with life. It only made him feel more out of place than he already was.

Vincent frowned and returned to his brooding. The hours passed by slowly, but he remained motionless even as his thoughts marched relentlessly through his head. "Why am I here?" he muttered to himself. That question was not hard to puzzle out; Cloud would not take "no" for an answer. Vincent suspected the martial artist had put him up to it; Cloud's invitation had been more forceful than polite. The fact remained that Vincent was accompanying the small group unwillingly; if left on his own, he would have much rather returned to Nibelheim to sleep in his coffin.

"I have not yet atoned for my sins," he said softly, studying the moonlit sky above. "I have no right to celebrate among the living. Lucretia…" The name slipped from his lips before he realized it, and his already dark mood blackened.

Dwelling on the memory of his lost love only made the reminder of his failures more painful to bear. It was worse inside of the mansion; there, his mental anguish was compounded by the physical attacks he encountered from the strange creatures still prowling its haunted depths. The dark, dank walls of his self-imposed prison left no room for anything other than self-recrimination. Vincent could never truly sleep in the coffin, another one of Hojo's twisted little gifts. He could only suspend his body, controlling every function until he could be taken for dead by the less observant. But he could never slow down his mind; he was always aware, always trapped in his consciousness with his memories.

Before Cloud had first awakened him, the slumber had been agonizing. Memories of his own painful physical transformation were interspersed with memories of Lucretia, both during their time as lovers and afterwards. The thought of her distant, faded smile brought him more pain than even the worst of Hojo's experiments.

Recently, however, the slumber had become even worse. Vincent had assumed that he would be able to retire in peace after AVALANCHE saved the planet and put Sephiroth and Jenova to rest for all eternity. But instead, his sleep was even more tortured than before. This time, rather than being lost in memories of Lucretia when she was alive, he swum in memories of the ghostly spirit who had appeared to him in the waterfall cavern. That Lucretia watched him with pain in her eyes, suffering eternally not only from her own transformation through Jenova, but also the fate of her beloved son.

_Were you right to kill him? Should you have told her? Could he not be saved?_

Vincent's jaw clenched. At least within the safety of his coffin, he could let the memories wash over him in private, away from prying eyes. Cloud's "vacation" left him feeling raw and exposed. He knew his friends had only good intentions in their hearts, but it still rankled him to be scrutinized under their eyes. Cloud was full of anger at his withdrawal, Tifa with pity. Barret avoided him, always uncomfortable and embarrassed around the silent man. Cid regarded him with a detached disgust, but respectfully kept his opinions to himself. Nanaki would just gaze at him silently with his lone eye, making him feel as though the giant cat could pierce his innermost thoughts. The only two people who he felt comfortable around were Reeve and Yuffie. The former, because he had been unable to find the time to accompany the small group on their vacation, and the latter because she simply didn't care enough to direct any of her attention towards him.

"I just want to be alone," he finally concluded. At least he had managed to find solitude in the middle of the noisy reunion on the serene mountainside.

"#!"

Vincent's eyes shot open and he glanced over his shoulder. As he feared, more than a few meters away lay Yuffie, facedown in the snow. She was wearing some strange new outfit that he assumed Tifa had picked out for her; nothing the young ninja ever wore on her own ever remotely smacked of taste or dignity. Unfortunately, her new clothing was not very practical for scaling a mountainside. Practical considerations, however, had never stopped the headstrong girl before.

Yuffie picked herself up out of the snow and cursed again, shivering as she tried to brush off the snow from the soaking suede material. "Tifa's gonna kill me…" she mumbled, looking at the ruined pants.

"You should not be here," Vincent said, turning away from the girl after a moment.

"Well ha ha! Look who's the master of the obvious now!" Yuffie growled, struggling her way up the mountain and towards Vincent's rock. "I wouldn't have to be here, trashing my brand new clothes, if you weren't!"

Vincent closed his eyes and sighed inwardly, mentally erasing his last assessment of the young ninja and adding her to his list of irritations. "What do you want of me?" he said tonelessly.

Yuffie huffed and crouched down beside Vincent. She wrapped her arms around her knees and blew into the collar of her shirt for warmth. "Tifa told me 'bout where they picked you up while we were shopping," she said.

Vincent raised an eyebrow. _She didn't know?_ He remained silent and waited for her to continue.

"Why'd you go back to Nibelheim, Vince? I mean, I thought you were happy an' all after we beat Sephiroth." She rocked back and forth on her heels and glanced at their surroundings. "But here you are, finding the next best place to a coffin to brood in this pimple on the butt of the world!"

Vincent smiled slightly underneath his cloak. Yuffie was never reserved about her opinions, and her language was only growing coarser the more she hung around Cid. If Cloud was there, they would have started another argument about her crude language.

Yuffie glanced at him and mistook his expression for annoyance. Her eyes darkened and she snorted loudly. "I don't care if you're upset! You're gonna listen to me now, 'cause you're not listening to anything else up here anyway." She unwrapped one of her arms from her knees and used it to stab her finger angrily into Vincent's cloak. "Why the hell are you so depressed, anyway? I mean, are you keepin' a stash of materia in that mansion all to yourself or something? Or do you just like hanging out with monsters better than your own friends?"

Vincent sighed and adjusted his cloak from where Yuffie had mangled it. "I simply prefer to be left in solitude," he said.

"You don't enjoy seeing us?" Yuffie said sceptically.

"That is not the reason…" Vincent began. He caught himself and turned a sharp gaze onto his young companion, who was humming to herself and curiously studying their surroundings. "Why did you come here? You're not even listening," he said irritably.

Yuffie turned back towards him with a look of surprise. "Huh? No, I'm listening!" she protested. "You're the one who's not talking. Besides, it's not like you're gonna spill your guts to someone like me. You'd need Tifa or somebody for that, right?" Yuffie gave him a smile and resumed her rocking.

Vincent sighed with annoyance. "You make too many assumptions, Yuffie."

Yuffie caught herself, her eyes growing wide. "Whoa! You mean you ARE gonna spill your guts? Cool!" She scooted closer to Vincent, a conspiratorial look in her eyes. "I promise not to tell anyone!" she whispered loudly. It was hard to miss the very obviously crossed fingers that were sticking out from the hand still wrapped around her knee.

Vincent groaned slightly. "Why am I even attempting to have a serious conversation with this child?" he muttered to himself.

"Because ya like me!" Yuffie answered for him with a broad smile. "Heck, I bet you like all of us. But I'm the only one annoying enough to get you to talk, right?" She blew her breath out into the cold night air and scrubbed at some frost forming on the leg of her pants. "Maybe I act too young for my age. But you act too old! So we balance out just right, see?" She turned another huge smile onto Vincent and reached out and tugged at a stray lock of his hair. He jerked back in surprise, and she giggled. "I'm not really all that interested in hearing about all the sad things you must be thinking about all the way up here," she admitted finally. "It's probably about a lotta dead people I don't know, and I bet it's depressing. I'd rather talk to you about fun stuff. Like what Tifa bought for Cloud today!" she said with a mischievous grin.

That derailed Vincent completely. "What Tifa bought for Cloud…" he started faintly. Then he caught himself once again and shook his head. "You are annoying," he said firmly, glaring at the goofily grinning ninja. "If you were not interested in talking to me, why did you even bother to come here?"

Yuffie smirked. "Because I like following tracks?" she offered. When Vincent refused to stop staring, she rolled her eyes. "I am interested in talking with you!" she said, slapping him on the arm. "I'd like you to talk back, too. That's why I came up here. I thought I'd give it a try." She quieted down and ceased with her incessant motion long enough to give Vincent a semi-serious stare. "You gotta treat other people the way you want them to treat you." She smiled at Vincent slightly. "You don't seem like the type to throw pity parties for yourself, and my shoulder's too bony to cry on anyway. Heck, I didn't think you were the type to go crawling back into a coffin after all we went through, so maybe I'm wrong." She stood up and dusted a few more crystals off of her pants. "But deep down, I bet you're tired of playing dead all the time. So I thought I'd give you a taste of what it's like to be alive."

Vincent regarded her with a puzzled expression. "I am alive," he said. "I don't see what this has to do with you climbing a mountain simply to insult me and act immaturely."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "I'm only insulting you 'cause you deserve it," she said primly. "And I'm not acting immaturely! I'm showing you how other people talk. You know, living people," she said sarcastically.

Vincent narrowed his eyes and turned away from her. "I wish to be left alone," he said curtly.

Yuffie growled, her expression growing fierce. "You think you're the only one who's suffering? Do you really think Cloud spends every waking minute telling us how much he misses Aeris? How much he loved her?" She crossed her arms. "We all know about it. But look at him! He's here snowboarding and flirting with Tifa! He's alive, and he's doing exactly what Aeris would have wanted him to." She sniffed. "Not like you at all. No wonder you piss him off."

Vincent's temper flared. "You have no right to say that," he bit out harshly. "Don't try to lecture me about love when you don't even know what it is!"

A hurt expression flashed across Yuffie's face, which she quickly stamped down with a stormy look. "Vincent Valentine, you're the biggest poop head I know!" she yelled at him. "Fine, stew in your own juices. Remind me not to try and help you again in the future!" She turned and leapt off the rock, travelling down the mountain path at a run.

Vincent watched her leave with a measure of anger and confusion, then turned back towards the bleak, snowy landscape before him. "A mere child, she doesn't know what she's doing," he muttered to himself. He thought about what Yuffie had told him, and unbidden, words came to his mind. _When the child was a child, it walked with its arms swinging, wanted the brook to be a river, the river to be a torrent, and this puddle to be the sea._ "I must atone for my sins," he said out loud. "She is asking too much of me. I cannot be anything other than who I am. I am not ready... not worthy to join the rest of humanity, not yet."

_When the child was a child, it didn't know that it was a child, everything was soulful, and all souls were one._ Vincent frowned. "Why am I thinking of this now?" he said out loud, scraping his bronze claw across the rock. His gaze descended to the twinkling lights of Icicle Town below. He thought of Cloud's pinched brow and Tifa's worried gaze. Cid's long, sideways glances and Barret's short, nervous ones. Nanaki's direct, unblinking stare. And Yuffie… but no, Yuffie had never given him any special looks, not until today. He came to a realization as he thought about it. They cared about him. All of them. Except for Yuffie, who foolishly assumed there was nothing wrong with him in the first place that needed any attention at all.

"There is nothing wrong with me…" he said out loud with indignation. The wind blew and a few snowflakes began to drift down the lonely mountainside, as if to point out the absurdity of his declaration. He scowled at the desolate mountainside, suddenly uncomfortable with the solitude. "I only act this way because I have suffered," he said reasonably. "I must pay for my failures, and what I have lost." _When the child was a child, it was time for these questions: Why am I me, and why not you? Why am I here, and why not there? _Yuffie's angry declaration came back to him. "Cloud loved Aeris as well…" he murmured. He leaned back, confused. "But how did Cloud move on?" It was a thought he had never bothered to ask himself before, being too absorbed in his own mourning for Lucretia.

The poem came back to him, line by line, each one gently mocking him. It was a poem about childhood, one he remembered from long ago. He had forgotten it, left it behind, along with his soiled innocence. "I am a grown man now," Vincent said to himself resolutely. "Yuffie's thoughts are those of a child. They mean nothing." The defiant words remained unspoken, but rang clearly across his thoughts, despite his best efforts to push them down. _When the child was a child, it reached for cherries in the topmost branches of trees with an elation it still has today. It awaited the first snow, and waits that way even now._

Vincent sighed and directed his gaze towards the faintly glittering village below. The same cheery lights still held their beckoning promise. He turned away and bowed his head respectfully towards the darkness, allowing the breeze to whisper around him. "I will never stop loving you, Lucretia," he said softly. When he felt ready, he opened his eyes and stood up, facing the snowy trail. "But perhaps it is time to start listening to the wisdom of children."

_When the child was a child, it threw a stick like a lance against a tree, and it quivers there still today._


	3. The Flight

**Chapter 3: The Flight**

Tifa raised an eyebrow at Yuffie's soggy appearance when she finally re-entered the Highwind. "Oh, Yuffie, we just bought that!" she said with disappointment.

The young girl didn't respond, instead listlessly pulling off the jacket and flopping onto the bed next to Tifa. "You were right," she mumbled, burying her head into the pillow with a moan. "It was a total waste of time!"

Tifa reached out and gently patted Yuffie on the back. "It's okay, Yuffie. At least you tried. The rest of us have just given up on him," she admitted sadly.

Yuffie rolled over and rolled her eyes at Tifa. "Yeah, that's just 'cause I'm the only one too stupid to notice Vincent was depressed!" she groaned.

"Well, lying in my bed, soaking it up and griping isn't going to make you feel better," Tifa chided her, digging through the many bags she had brought back from the shop. "I thought something like this might happen. Here, change into this," she said, throwing a dry set of clothes at Yuffie, who sat up and caught them easily.

"You got me spares?" Yuffie said, looking at the new clothing with surprise. Noticing the dark suede material, she looked up with a glint in her eye. "You better pray that Cloud really likes your underwear. He's going to have a chocobo when he finds out how much you spent!" she giggled, quickly getting changed.

"He won't mind once I explain it to him. Every girl deserves to have some new clothing every once in a while." Tifa smile reassuringly as Yuffie finished pulling on the last of her dry clothes. "They should be getting back soon, it's too dark to stay out on the slopes now."

The sound of footsteps ringing on the deck above confirmed Tifa's words, and the two girls moved out of the room to meet Cloud and Nanaki, who had returned.

"Hey guys!" Cloud called out, waving at the two girls with a smile as he deposited his snowboard in a corner. "Where's everybody else?" he asked.

Tifa tapped her chin. "Well, I guess Cid and Barret are still at the bar, and Vincent-"

Yuffie cut in quickly. "We don't know where Vincent went!" she yelled hurriedly. "I think he decided he'd go out and enjoy Icicle Town on his own after all!" Tifa shot Yuffie a questioning look, and she quickly leaned in. "Listen, I ragged on Vince a lot today. He doesn't need Cloud on his back right now," she whispered.

Cloud frowned and shook some snow out of his hair. "Huh. I bet climbed one of these mountains and spent the entire time brooding up there."

"Then you would only be partially correct," Vincent said as he entered the Highwind. Everyone turned and looked at him with surprise, particularly Yuffie, whose eyes were wide and nervous. He cleared his throat and hesitantly pulled the collar of his cloak down slightly. "Large gatherings of people do not appeal to me. I decided I would rather enjoy the natural scenery of the area."

This caused everyone in the room to stare. It was the most Vincent had said publicly during the entire course of the trip.

Cloud was the first to break the silence, his blue eyes hard. "So I was right. You call it hiking, I call it running away."

Yuffie cut in, sensing the rising tension between the two men. "Uh, no, Cloud. He really was hiking. I was with him for a while, see! We had fun, but I got cold and had to come back first," she said, squeezing her eyes shut and smiling so hard she thought her face would split in half. _Oh-Leviathan-please-let-him-keep-his-mouth-shut, please-please-please!_ she prayed feverishly.

Cloud regarded the young ninja suspiciously and then turned to Vincent once more. "Is this true?" he said sternly.

"Of course it's true!" Yuffie protested, her eyes popping open and staring at Tifa pleadingly.

"Umm, yes…" Tifa began uncertainly. "Yes, it is. Yuffie and I went shopping earlier, but then she left with Vincent to go hiking. She completely ruined the new outfit you just bought her!" she added indignantly.

Cloud did a double take. "I just bought her? Never mind, I'll ask you about it later. Vincent?" he said, still watching the gunman warily.

Vincent stood on the doorstep, regarding Yuffie with the closest he could come to surprise. Finally, he looked at Cloud and gave the young blond a slight nod.

Cloud sighed and ran his fingers through his unruly hair. "Then I guess I owe you an apology, Vincent," he said slowly. He looked at the gunman and gave him a small grin. "Maybe I was wrong about you after all."

Vincent inclined his head slightly. "It is I who have been acting poorly towards the rest of you. There is no need to apologize."

Nanaki grunted and lifted his head from the floor, where he had sprawled to watch the mini-drama unfold. "While this reunion is touching, we still haven't answered the most important question." Seeing everyone's gaze turn to him, he flicked his tail lazily. "Cid and Barret must be sloshed by now. Who's going to pick them up?"

Cloud, Tifa and Yuffie let out a simultaneous groan. "I spent the entire day on the slopes," Cloud said, rubbing at his shoulder. "I don't think I could lift my sword right now. Would someone else like to volunteer?"

"Do you know how heavy Barret is?" Tifa complained. "He stinks when he drinks too much. And Cid always manages to put his hand on my butt when he's drunk!" she added, crossing her arms angrily. "Someone else is going to have to clean up after those two!"

Yuffie scowled. "Hey, I'm not even as tall as Tifa! I can't bring them back by myself!"

Nanaki rolled his good eye upwards. "I have no hands. Even if I could drag them through the street, someone else would still have to get them onto the Highwind." He yawned and stood up, padding towards his room. "As it is, I'm rather tired right now. I think I'll get some rest."

All eyes turned towards Vincent, who had remained silent during the entire exchange. He lifted one fine eyebrow, and then sighed slightly. "Very well." Everyone broke out into a chorus of cheers and thank-you's, which were silenced by his next words. "But only if Yuffie comes with me," he said ominously, staring at the young ninja.

"Huh? Me? Take Tifa!" Yuffie squeaked, panicking.

Vincent regarded her coolly. "Even if I do bring Barret back, someone still has to help Cid. And I believe Tifa has something she wants to show to Cloud. Isn't that what you said?" He smirked slightly.

"YUFFIE!" Tifa's face turned bright scarlet, and Yuffie suddenly decided that helping out Vincent would be a very good idea. There was a crash and a clatter, and the door slammed shut, leaving Tifa and Cloud standing alone in the room.

"There's something you wanted to show me, Tifa?" Cloud said cluelessly. "Why are you blushing?"

- x – x – x -

Yuffie stared at the ground, kicking at the snow in her path petulantly. "It's cold, I'm freezing, and I don't wanna see either of those turkeys drunk," she muttered with annoyance.

"Why did you do it?" Vincent said, falling into step beside her.

"Because Tifa might've used Final Heaven on me after what you said!" Yuffie growled, glaring at Vincent with a large scowl. "It's called a tactical retreat!"

"I meant what you said to Cloud," Vincent said. "Why did you lie to him?"

Yuffie blushed slightly and patted her cheeks hurriedly. "Oh, that!" she said with a nervous laugh. "Well, I guess you didn't need Spike breathin' down your neck and all right now. You have enough problems, right?" She swung her arms around carelessly, spinning through the snowy street. "We're on vacation anyhow! That little white lie isn't gonna hurt anybody."

Vincent regarded her thoughtfully. "But you seemed upset when you left the mountain. And you have nothing to gain by doing this."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Damn straight! I'd call it a total loss, all I got for helping you out was drag-home-the-drunk duty!" she moaned, stopping at the door to the bar.

Vincent paused, and then after a moment of reflection, reached out and put a hand on Yuffie's shoulder. She fell still, meeting Vincent's gaze with genuine surprise.

"It was not a 'total loss,'" he said to her cryptically.

Yuffie blinked and opened her mouth to reply, but Vincent moved past her, pushing the door to the bar open. She remained outside, gaping like a fish, for once speechless as she stared after the tall gunman.

"Are you going to just stand there?" he called out with a hint of amusement.

"H-hey!" she yelled, charging into the bar after him. She stopped, the questions she was itching to ask of Vincent dying in her throat as she observed the two unmistakable figures seated at one of the tables. "Oh, great!" she moaned.

Barret was slumped over one side of the table, his heavy gun arm resting against the floor, snoring loudly. At the other end of the table, Cid was sitting with a dazed expression, still nursing an open bottle of beer. He hiccupped and turned his glassy blue eyes towards Yuffie and Vincent.

"Say, if t'ain't Yuffsters 'n Vincent," he slurred at them, raising his bottle. "Just 'n time t' join us for 'nother drink," he added, trying to push a stool out towards them. He missed and swore loudly, falling against the table.

"Umm, I'm not old enough to drink yet," Yuffie said with a smirk. "Hey, you get sleeping beauty, I'll handle Cid," she mumbled to Vincent, who gave her a short nod and moved towards the large black man.

"Aww, 'm sure they'd make 'n exception for such a pretty girl like you," Cid replied, giving Yuffie a dazed smile. "Say, ya look kinda like Tifa," he said, squinting at her dark pants. "Where're your shorts?"

Yuffie groaned and slung one of Cid's arms over her shoulder. "We're in Icicle Town, Cid. Remember? C'mon, it's time to go home," she said irately.

"Home? Yeah… you make sure 'n tell Shera to put the tea on," he mumbled, stumbling heavily to his feet.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Icicle Town, Cid! We're going to the High-EEP!" Her sentence ended in a shrill shriek as she felt a hand descend on her rear. "Cid Highwind, if you don't remove that hand right now, I'm gonna take it off for you!" she screamed at him.

"Pants fitcha real well," Cid mumbled with a grin as Yuffie dragged him towards the door.

"Stop." Vincent's quiet voice carried an edge of steel to it, and both Yuffie and Cid looked up with surprise. He directed an icy gaze at the drunken pilot. "Touch her again, and you will have more to worry about than simply your hand."

It was unusual for the gunman to speak at all, and his tone of voice was deadly. It had a sobering effect on the pilot, who straightened up slightly and gave Vincent a wobbly nod. "Sorry…" he mumbled with confusion. "!#, didn' mean nothin' by it… sorta do it to Tifa all the time…"

Yuffie recovered from her shock and pulled Cid out into the cold night air. "Yeah, well, guess what brainiac, she doesn't like it either!" she finally managed to stutter. A hot blush still graced her cheeks from Vincent's unusual outburst. _What's he thinking?_ she wondered nervously. Behind them, she could feel Vincent's stare boring into their backs, watching their progress like a hawk. Despite the fact that he was grappling with a completely unconscious Barret, she had no doubt he would be able to carry out his threat with lightning efficiency if Cid's hand strayed again.

Cid, even in his inebriated state, was apparently considering the same thoughts. He turned his head towards her, and Yuffie winced away from the blast of stale fumes that came from his breath. "'sup with Vincent, Yuffie? He yer boyfriend now or somethin'?"

Yuffie felt her face explode into what she was sure was a new shade of red and quickened her pace. "Just shut up, Cid! You're drunk!" she grumbled over his loud protests.

- x – x – x -

Everyone made it back to the Highwind without further incident, and both Cid and Barret were safely deposited in the chocobo stables at Yuffie's adamant refusal to drag them any further. Cloud and Tifa were nowhere to be found, and Nanaki was fast asleep. As Yuffie tiptoed through the quiet ship, she was acutely aware of Vincent's presence behind her. She turned her head slightly and squeaked when she noticed him following her.

"Eh heh, well, uh, guess we're done here, so I'm gonna go get some shut-eye now, 'kay?" she said quickly. She turned and began to move down the hall again, trying to kill the blush on her cheeks and praying that Vincent hadn't noticed it. To her dismay, she heard him following her once more. Finally, with a sigh, she turned around and put on an angry scowl. "What?" she hissed.

"You're blushing," Vincent noted.

This, of course, had the exactly the reaction Yuffie didn't want, which was to make her blush even more. "So what? It's cold. I'm just trying to keep my face warm!" she said. _It feels more like I could provide central heating for the Highwind right now,_ she appended silently.

Vincent refused to be put off by her obvious discomfort. "Do I make you nervous?" he said, a hint of amusement briefly flashing through his eyes once more.

"No!" Yuffie clapped her hands over her mouth and looked around, her eyes wide as her yell echoed down the empty hall. "I mean yes," she whispered hotly. "You'd make anybody nervous, stalking her like that!" she added. "I bet you're doing it on purpose!"

Vincent inclined his head slightly. "It was intentional," he said simply. Yuffie began to reply, but he cut her off once more. "For Cid." He regarded her once again, leaning in closer. "Why do I make you nervous now?"

Yuffie watched Vincent with large eyes, having the distinct feeling of a mouse being played with by a very large cat. "H-hey, is this revenge for what I said to you on the mountain?" she stuttered, unable to break his gaze.

"You could say that," Vincent said, leaning in closer.

Yuffie groaned and rolled her eyes, the tension leaking out of her body. "Oh, gee, alright already, so maybe I was a little mean. But it's not like ya didn't deserve it. And look at you now, you're bein' social and everything! So I don't think it's fair to go on and tease me like that. You want me to say I'm sorry, right? Yeah, I bet that's it. Okay, I'm sorry for calling you a poop he—" Her babbling was cut short unexpectedly as Vincent leaned in and silenced her with a kiss. It was a very long and very demanding kiss, and through the fog of her shock, Yuffie's overworked brain finally came to one definite conclusion: Vincent was a very good kisser.

When he finally lifted his head, Yuffie remained staring blankly at him, her lips parted and her eyes slightly foggy. After a moment, she realized Vincent was regarding her with the same unfamiliar expression as before. After another moment, she realized it was laughter. Her brow lowered instantly. "Hey, what was that for?" she said, glaring at him.

"You said you wanted to give me a taste of what it's like to be alive," Vincent said. He leaned in closer, and Yuffie froze as his lips brushed against her ear. "It tastes very good," he whispered. Then he pushed away from her and continued his leisurely walk down the hall, stopping at the door to his room.

Yuffie finally recovered enough to stand up and face him, pointing a shaking finger towards the gunman. "T-that's not what I meant when I said it!" she quaked, her eyes wide.

Vincent smiled smugly at her, pushing the door open. "That's too bad. I'm looking forward to having seconds later on," he said, entering the room. The door closed behind him with a quiet click, leaving Yuffie standing in the hall with her arm still outstretched and a radiant flush.

After recovering from her second bout with shock, Yuffie finally managed to lower her arm. "You don't just kiss a girl and run away like that!" she muttered to herself. She considered his kiss, and his challenge, and a slow smile spread across her face. She skipped her way back to her room, her heart beating wildly in her chest. "Well, tomorrow's another day, and there's still six days of vacation left." She paused, and glanced back towards the gunman's closed door. "I hope you know this means war, Vincent Valentine." And with a grin, she shut the door.

**- fin -**

**AN: **_I'd like to thank everyone who left a review (or might do so in the future) … I really do appreciate it quite a bit! I know this fiction was a little short, and I don't think it's my best work, but there were certain parameters I had to work with. And, honestly, if it wasn't for the challenge, I probably wouldn't have written anything at all._

_  
For the curious, here are the challenge standards:_

_- Inspired by a song from a closed list of choices (mine was "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, hence the title).  
- __A Vincent / Yuffie kiss.  
- __Tifa taking Yuffie to a store of some sort.  
- __Someone gets "bitch-slapped" (verbally) for starting a fight.  
- __The words "Don't ask, it's a (insert name) thing."_


	4. Peter Handke

**A note on political injustice. 8. June 2006  
**

Some of you might notice that I used a poem by Peter Handke in this fiction. "Song of Childhood" - I think it's appropriate to post this addendum here now, considering the controversy currently surrounding this talented poet.

Peter Handke is an Austrian novelist who was recently nominated for Germany's prestigious Heinrich Heine Prize, a literary award with monetary compensation attached to it. He was, however, slated to be spurned for the award due to his 'political stance' on Serbia. Here it is, straight from Wikipedia:

* * *

"In 1996 his travelogue _Eine winterliche Reise zu den Flüssen Donau, Save, Morawa und Drina oder Gerechtigkeit für Serbien (A Journey to the Rivers: Justice for Serbia)_ created considerable controversy, as Handke portrayed Serbia among the victims of the Balkan War. In the same essay, Handke also frontally attacked Western media for misrepresenting the causes and consequences of the war. This controversy still rages. Former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milošević asked that Handke be summoned as witness for the defense before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, but the writer declined. He did, however, visit the tribunal as a spectator, and later published his observations in _Die Tablas von Daimiel, (The Tablas of Daimiel)_. 

On 18. March 2006, Handke spoke at the funeral of Slobodan Milošević in front of over 20.000 visitors. His speech in Serbian caused much controversy over what he said, and has wrongly been translated as expressing his happiness at being close to Milošević, who defended his people. What he actually said was: "I don't know the truth. But I look. I listen. I feel. I remember. This is why I am here today, close to Yugoslavia, close to Serbia, close to Slobodan Milošević."

* * *

Because of this, he has rejected accepting the award to stem the controversy surrounding his political views. Anyone who reads my fiction and enjoys it knows that I agree with Mr. Handke on one very important point: There is no black and white, no clear cuts between good and evil. There's only what we know, what we strive for in our attempts to make wrongs right; all of us might make mistakes, but the important thing is that we try.

Sometimes we all need to look, listen, feel and remember. Here's to you, Mr. Peter Handke, from at least one appreciative author who thinks you deserved that award.


End file.
